Coordinated Control Design for Ethical Maneuvering of Autonomous Vehicles

Németh, Balázs · 2023 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3390/en16104254

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Summary

This paper addresses the challenge of integrating ethical principles into the control design of autonomous vehicles (AVs), specifically focusing on achieving "ethical maneuvering." The author argues that current ethical frameworks, such as the trolley problem, are often unrealistic or fail to account for the stochastic nature of real-world traffic and the need for public trust. Motivated by the limitations of existing empirical and utilitarian approaches, the study proposes a novel control strategy grounded in Protestant ethics, aiming to enhance trust through predictable, rule-based vehicle behavior rather than attempting to replicate complex human moral reasoning. The methodology involves developing a coordinated control design based on Model Predictive Control (MPC). The author first formulates an ethical concept derived from five statements linked to Protestant theological principles, particularly the "divine mandate of work" and the recognition of human limitation. These principles translate into technical requirements: achieving optimal, safe, and energy-efficient motion while explicitly clarifying the limitations of the control system under disturbances or critical dynamics. This ethical framework is then embedded into the MPC optimization problem, which generates steering angle and velocity profiles. The design falls under a "trust-focused" ethical framework, prioritizing collision-free motion without predefined fixed routes, thereby allowing for flexible trajectory generation that accounts for kinematic constraints and environmental uncertainties. The paper illustrates the effectiveness of this coordinated control method through various simulation scenarios. While specific numerical results are not detailed in the provided text, the simulations demonstrate that the MPC-based design successfully incorporates the proposed ethical principles into the vehicle's longitudinal and lateral motion control. The approach allows the AV to perform maneuvers that align with the predefined ethical concept, ensuring that the vehicle’s actions remain within the bounds of the theological framework’s emphasis on safety, responsibility, and transparency. The significance of this work lies in its novel application of Protestant ethics to autonomous vehicle control, bridging theological concepts with engineering design. By shifting the focus from solving abstract ethical dilemmas to building trust through reliable and explainable control systems, the paper offers a practical alternative to trolley-based models. The proposed method provides a flexible mathematical framework that can accommodate various ethical concepts, suggesting that incorporating theological perspectives on responsibility and limitation can lead to more socially acceptable and trustworthy autonomous driving systems. This contribution highlights the potential for interdisciplinary approaches in addressing the ethical challenges of AI-driven transportation.

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